Ingredients
- 3 or 4 cloves garlic (depending on how big the cloves are)
- 2.5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
- 4 cups chickpeas (save the liquid from the can)
- 1 cup tahini
- 1/3 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
Directions
NOTE: This recipe makes a lot of hummus—enough to feed a party. Feel free to cut all the amounts in half if you’re making this for occasional light snacking instead.
Mix the garlic, olive oil, paprika, cayenne, salt & pepper in a food processor or blender until smooth.
Then add the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, and about 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid from the chickpeas.
Blend until smooth, continuing to add the chickpea liquid a little at a time until the mixture has the desired consistency.
Serve as is, or sprinkle with paprika, drizzle with olive oil, toss on a little parsley—whatever. But if you’re not going to serve it right away, make sure to refrigerate it in a sealed container. Otherwise a brownish—but still edible—crust soon forms.
Feel free to experiment with variations. For instance, while a little fresh cayenne can give this plenty of kick, using a touch of adobo sauce instead will take it somewhere new.
And, yeah, you could dip pita bread or pita chips, but I made up a batch of flour tortilla chips from scratch to use instead. (See our guacamole recipe for the instructions.) This hummus is so bold that the chips’ relative blandness is a nice complement. You can use them soft, from the skillet or griddle, or baked, lightly brushed with oil & salted, from the oven.
—Chef Jean-Luc Bataille